Who Is Supporting Whom?

It can be difficult to explain to a novice the concept of servant leadership. Sometimes, a picture really can be a thousand words, and in this case the Servant Leadership Training Academy has developed a visual that really works. They started by taking the definition of servant-leader from Robert Greenleaf and expanded it to this:

“A person of character who puts people first. He or she is a skilled communicator, a compassionate collaborator who has foresight, is a systems thinker, and leads with moral authority.”

Next, the Servant Leadership Training Academy created a graphic using an old-world style building and labeled it with the Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership.

It all makes great sense. If we say that our culture is our foundation, we develop strategies as building blocks based our culture and its impact. The servant-leader exemplifies the seven pillars which support our employees, who support our customer, who support our community.

The seven pillars in this illustration of a servant-leader are:

7 Pillars

~ Person of character
~ Puts People First
~ Skilled Communicator
~ Compassionate Collaborator
~ Has Foresight
~ System Thinker
~ Leads With Moral Authority

What a terrific illustration! The traditional hierarchy would put the leader at the top, “over” the employees. That is not at all what servant leadership is about. Instead, the servant leader supports the individual. Alan Loy Ginnis, author of The Friendship Factor, said it well, “There is no more noble occupation in the world that to assist another human being – to help someone succeed.”

What do you do each day to strengthen the seven pillars of your servant-leadership? 

L2L Contributing Author

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